


Beside, Bedside

by mabariis



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Literal Sleeping Together, Sleeping Together, Watching Someone Sleep, custom f!MU, flowery descriptions out the ears, self-indulgent nonsense at its.....hopefully finest?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 11:31:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21118079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mabariis/pseuds/mabariis
Summary: Finding Jakob rather asleep at the end of the army's latest excursion, Ione takes a chance to just look at her former butler.





	Beside, Bedside

**Author's Note:**

> have fun with my stream-of-consciousness writing about how pretty jakob is. I wrote the bulk of this drifting in and out of sleep myself.

For all his insistence to the contrary, finding Jakob already asleep on the bed when Ione finished her camp rounds had practically become the norm. This afternoon held no exception, unfettered as he was by the sound of the opening door. Gingerly, she closed it once again, the click of the latch always seeming to boom in these situations. But nothing else moved, not until she did, silently tip-toeing her way over to the bedside.

Jakob had settled himself down atop their bedding, no doubt with the thought that he would just be resting his eyes a moment (she'd heard that one before). His head lay in stark contrast to the pillow it rested on, moonlight and alabaster amidst a sea of scarlet. His arms were crossed, likely done before he rolled inward and tucked his legs up sometime in his slumber. He'd hate to hear her say it, but he really did look completely unguarded, his sleeping normally quite sound. It took quite a bit of nudging to wake him - but right now, she didn’t want to. Ione knelt by the free side of the bed, resting the side of her face where her ponytail hung on her arms, taking some time to just...watch him.

It wasn’t the first time she’d done this. Once, she waited to see if he’d wake up on his own, without any prompting from her. Ione wasn’t known for her patience, so the fact that it was a full twenty minutes before she just nudged him awake herself was, for her, quite the accomplishment. Today would feature no similar test of endurance - sometimes she just liked to look at him.   


His chest rose and fell evenly with his every metered breath. She never noticed him breathing when he was awake. One never really does notice it, do they? Until attention is called to it. But somehow, in sleep, it became that much more obvious, a focal point, that steady in and out, the rhythm that told you they were simply in slumber. Each exhale stirred errant strands of hair, silken threads waving in a temporary breeze, and Ione had to stop herself from reaching out to brush them back, sure the act would wake him. He seemed to like her touching his hair, whether she was running her hand over his head or her fingers through it, making and undoing tiny braids, or twisting strands around her fingers idly. Sometimes he leaned towards her as she sifted through it all, long and gorgeous and more precious than silver, and his contented sighs were all she needed to know he hardly minded.

His lips hung slightly open, a small gap leaving them slightly pursed. They were soft, cushy satin, a fact she knew from every one of their kisses. The pillow had pushed them apart, an unintended consequence of undoubtedly nuzzling his cheek into it like he sometimes did her hand. She thought about waking him up right then, with a kiss, how despite his surprise and grogginess he’d lean right into it, body following her even as his mind struggled to actually wake. Perhaps he’d reach out one of those gentle hands, well-kept and delicate in most of his touch, and push her closer. There was always something warm about his touch, even when his fingertips simply ghosted against her skin, as if contact alone could convey his tenderness. For all his acting with others, so much of Jakob seemed full of love, and it flowed from him frequently, carrying his every action. When it showed, it softened him in ways that only made him more beautiful.   


And he was. Beautiful. At every point, he was beautiful.

At last, her patience was running thin. The impulse to reach out and touch him in some way was growing way too strong, but before she could place a hand on his cheek, she got another idea. With the same sort of slow attempt at stealth she used coming in, Ione rose from her kneeling position and slipped, carefully, into the bed. Jakob stirred minimally when she lay down, immediately scooting over beside him. Wordlessly, he wrapped an arm around her, his lips laying against her forehead. She put an arm around him in kind, content to drift off herself at this point. After all, it was cozy. Warm. Familiar.

It was settling herself further in against Jakob’s chest that finally seemed to wake him, sharp eyes opening just enough to verify she was actually there, and those satin lips left a soft kiss on her forehead.

“Welcome back, my dear,” he greeted, voice quiet, keeping the sound just between them.

“Good morning,” she teased, tilting her head up and leaving a well-placed greeting of her own on his jaw. “How was your nap?”   
  
He cleared his throat (in that way he did when caught in a situation he didn’t want to admit to), his retort coming out in the halting way it did sometimes when he scrambled to save face. “I was merely closing my eyes!”   
  
“Uh-huh,” she shot back, moving to look him in the eyes. “So how come I was able to just sit here for like five minutes staring at you while you were definitely asleep?”

He narrowed his eyes, but ultimately gave up his search for an excuse. He chose instead to tighten his hold against her, his lips flush with her forehead again. His breath huffed against her skin as he spoke. “...I meant to simply close my eyes, anyway,” he grumbled.   


His hand slid up her back, a slow rub that had her curving herself towards him, closing the tiny gap between their chests entirely. It was common for them, eliminating that air, those empty spaces, to wedge as close to each other as they could. It was something she was grateful for, thriving from touch as she did, and something she knew he relished too, greedy for touch as he was behind closed doors, in intimate spaces. For a few moments time passed unfettered. Jakob’s head rested against Ione’s, his cheek finding a comfortable spot atop her, and she listened to his breathing slow again, though it didn’t reach the slow, deep pace it did when he was sound asleep. He gasped when she began to slowly scratch along his back, languid circles skating over his many layers, and she felt his pleased hum reverberate against her as he settled once more. He relaxed so much at her touch, melting against her at every opportunity, such a stark difference from the rigid way he kept himself outside.

Another kiss graced her face before he picked back up their conversation. “Shall I get you anything now that you have returned? Some tea? Perhaps dinner?”

Ione considered this briefly.   


She wedged her face down into his chest.

“In a little bit,” she said, more to his collarbone than anything else. “I wanna stay here some more, okay?”

She could hear his grin. “As you wish.”


End file.
